From pipe dream to reality

From pipe dream to reality! How we increased traffic, conversions and usability

As one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of piping, water and climate management systems, Polypipe has been long established as a market leader. We were approached to overhaul its website as it no longer reflected the changing structure of Polypipe’s business or its product offering.

A change in online behaviours also meant the pressure was on. A growing number of users were visiting the website from their mobile devices during their working day. These specific and time-sensitive visits meant extra consideration had to be given to designing the responsive version of the new website.

Building on solid foundations

Getting this project right meant investing in serious research. As well as convening with senior stakeholders at Polypipe, we also spoke extensively with each of the group’s business units to better understand their individual needs.

Next, we delivered prototypes and wireframes to establish user journeys and navigation structures. But this was only the first stage of development. Instead of progressing unchecked, we conducted an extensive programme of user testing research. This provided the insight we needed to validate our thinking.

Future-proofed and ready to grow

Beautiful visuals alone are simply not enough for a modern website to drive significant commercial opportunities. The vision also has to look wider than just internal stakeholders.

So our creative team only got to work on delivering the website’s final designs and artwork once we had the results of our user testing research programme.

Armed with an in-depth understanding of how users interact with different page elements, we built a website perfectly tailored for Polypipe’s existing and future needs. And by using an open-source CMS platform, we gave Polypipe the flexibility to scale their website in line with any further expansion and development. This will set them up for years of online success.

Immediate impacts

Our user testing initiative enabled all stakeholders to agree on the most effective way forward – and it showed in the project’s final results.

The new website proved an instant hit, delivering double-digit increases in search traffic, new visits and page views. It also achieved a 9% jump in conversions, giving Polypipe’s sales team a constant flow of new leads and increasing the company’s chances of continued financial growth.